This award goes to none other than Godwin, the night watchman who over the past few months has done nothing but irritate and anger me! Some of my frustrations are simply because he is a drunk, annoying man who doesn't even do the job that he is paid to do and continuously abuses our kindness! The flip side of this is that he is clearly an intelligent person who for reasons I will never know, has slipped into a way of life where he eats scraps of food from our bin and cannot survive a day without drinking!
Godwin (who's age varies on different documents he shows us from 30 something to 50 something must be in his 40's by our guess) has recently married a young woman/girl who he refers to as either his 'wife' or 'small girl.' She speaks no English and has spent the past few nights sleeping outside our house with her new husband! Prior to her arrival into our bizarre 'family' we had to endure a month of various animals living in the compound, all of which were intended for use as a dowry. The birds had their own body clock that was never in sync with sunrise or sunset so at any time of the day we could get the fright of our lives as one of them would erupt!
Godwin also has no hesitation in asking us for money on a very regular basis. When I joined the house he was nearing the end of paying Vic and Rach back 70 Cedis that he used to buy a bike. I was cautious at first to join or start such a process, especially after witnessing how drunk Godwin can get, because it meant he would be tied to the house for as long as it would take him to pay the money back! But against my better judgement Rach and I leant him 65 Cedis, which he will be paying back until September.
Now anyone who knows 'the rage' or fiesty side in me can imagine pretty well how this scenario went last night... As Rach and I were sat in the living room chatting away Godwin's wife strolls into the compound along with another woman who we've never seen before! Having made it very clear to Godwin last week that no-one other than him should be entering the compound without letting us know beforehand, I could feel my blood starting to boil! His wife started to cook his dinner, which in itself infuriated me, because he is perfectly capable of cooking it himself instead of heading off to drink himself into a stupor! So when he finally decided to grace us with his presence, stinking of pito, I couldn't contain myself any longer...I ran through with him in a heated discussion the list of things that he had done recently in which he was completely abusing how kind Rachel and I had been to him, how he had gone against every single rule we had set and how he had not spent the money we leant him to buy seeds on seeds, but on drink and his wedding instead! I told him that I would have no problem in firing him and telling him we never wanted to see him again!
Following this conversation I then found myself feeling so angry, but not at Godwin, at myself! Had I completely lost sight of where I am? Had my Western side taken over my more compassionate and thoughtful Ghanaian side? Had I just told him that his wife cannot stay here to cook for him, when he has been known to eat meat from our bin that is green and beyond edible? But then I remembered the times Godwin has been so drunk he hasn't noticed people coming and going from the compound or even me riding my bike straight past his head one evening! I remembered how he tried to trick us into putting his pay up after Vic left and how clever he is with numbers! I remembered how no other house in our neighbourhood has to talk to their night watchman, as they don't drink, ask for money and invite strangers into the compounds where they work!
So it seems my constant battle with myself over what to do with Godwin will remain, as will my constant battle with Godwin! But all I know is that for some reason he has been put here in my life right now, so I must be learning something from him, even if I have no idea what that may be yet...!
Godwin (who's age varies on different documents he shows us from 30 something to 50 something must be in his 40's by our guess) has recently married a young woman/girl who he refers to as either his 'wife' or 'small girl.' She speaks no English and has spent the past few nights sleeping outside our house with her new husband! Prior to her arrival into our bizarre 'family' we had to endure a month of various animals living in the compound, all of which were intended for use as a dowry. The birds had their own body clock that was never in sync with sunrise or sunset so at any time of the day we could get the fright of our lives as one of them would erupt!
Godwin also has no hesitation in asking us for money on a very regular basis. When I joined the house he was nearing the end of paying Vic and Rach back 70 Cedis that he used to buy a bike. I was cautious at first to join or start such a process, especially after witnessing how drunk Godwin can get, because it meant he would be tied to the house for as long as it would take him to pay the money back! But against my better judgement Rach and I leant him 65 Cedis, which he will be paying back until September.
Now anyone who knows 'the rage' or fiesty side in me can imagine pretty well how this scenario went last night... As Rach and I were sat in the living room chatting away Godwin's wife strolls into the compound along with another woman who we've never seen before! Having made it very clear to Godwin last week that no-one other than him should be entering the compound without letting us know beforehand, I could feel my blood starting to boil! His wife started to cook his dinner, which in itself infuriated me, because he is perfectly capable of cooking it himself instead of heading off to drink himself into a stupor! So when he finally decided to grace us with his presence, stinking of pito, I couldn't contain myself any longer...I ran through with him in a heated discussion the list of things that he had done recently in which he was completely abusing how kind Rachel and I had been to him, how he had gone against every single rule we had set and how he had not spent the money we leant him to buy seeds on seeds, but on drink and his wedding instead! I told him that I would have no problem in firing him and telling him we never wanted to see him again!
Following this conversation I then found myself feeling so angry, but not at Godwin, at myself! Had I completely lost sight of where I am? Had my Western side taken over my more compassionate and thoughtful Ghanaian side? Had I just told him that his wife cannot stay here to cook for him, when he has been known to eat meat from our bin that is green and beyond edible? But then I remembered the times Godwin has been so drunk he hasn't noticed people coming and going from the compound or even me riding my bike straight past his head one evening! I remembered how he tried to trick us into putting his pay up after Vic left and how clever he is with numbers! I remembered how no other house in our neighbourhood has to talk to their night watchman, as they don't drink, ask for money and invite strangers into the compounds where they work!
So it seems my constant battle with myself over what to do with Godwin will remain, as will my constant battle with Godwin! But all I know is that for some reason he has been put here in my life right now, so I must be learning something from him, even if I have no idea what that may be yet...!
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